The TRUTH about the 4 Month Sleep Regression | Is it REALLY a regression? HOW do I survive it?! - Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Potty Training Coach

The TRUTH about the 4 Month Sleep Regression | Is it REALLY a regression? HOW do I survive it?!

Has your baby finally started giving you longer stretches of sleep at night and you think, “hey, they’re finally sleeping better, I can start sleeping better too.” And then BAM the four month sleep regression shows up! If you want the truth about the four month sleep regression, then keep reading.

The TRUTH about the 4 Month Sleep Regression | Is it REALLY a regression? HOW do I survive it?!

The cold hard truth about the four month sleep regression is that it’s not a regression. It is a pro aggression and it’s a progression in the sense that your child’s sleep is changing for the rest of their lives. Your child’s sleep patterns are becoming more adult-like, and the way that they sleep after four months old is the way they’re going to sleep forever. You know exactly what I’m going to say next…this is a perfect time for sleep training.

But first, let’s talk about the signs of a true regression.

You are going to see consistent sleep struggles throughout the day and at night. That might mean that you’re having an early morning wake up, you might be having nap strikes, short naps, struggling at bedtime, and waking up in the middle of the night. But it won’t last forever; sleep regressions are generally only a few weeks long.

If it’s just one thing here and there and it’s not consistent that it’s not a sleep regression.

Before I even get into the tips, I want you to go download my free baby sleep guide. This is going to help you so much when it comes to your baby’s sleep. This is gonna help you lay the foundation that we’re going to talk about right now in pdf form that you can print out and share with family members.

Tips on getting through your baby’s sleep regression:

Check your child’s wake windows. Are they staying awake for an appropriate amount of time in between sleep?
Make sure that your child is in an appropriate sleep environment. You need to make sure that your baby is sleeping alone on their back and in the crib. Make sure the room is pitch black, with white noise on, especially during the day when it comes to naps and there are other noises around your house.
If you don’t have a very consistent routine now is the time to put one in place. You really should be doing a bedtime routine from day one, but it’s not gonna make or break your child’s sleep habits at this point right now, you need to make sure that you are doing the same exact thing in the same exact order every single night before bed.

Four months is the best time to sleep train your baby at bedtime, and then by the time they get a little bit older when they’re six months old, they’re going to have those independent sleep skills at bedtime for the past few months. And naps are naturally going to improve, but some days they may take a two hour nap and some days they may take a 20 minute nap and this is all normal. So right now, I really want you to focus on independent sleep at bedtime and through the night and only feeding your baby. When the pediatrician says that your baby needs a feeding again.

If you’re struggling to come up with a plan or a sleep training method that works for your baby based on your baby’s age, temperament, your parenting style, the baby’s milestones that they’ve met so far. If you’re struggling with any of that and choosing a sleep training method, this is exactly what I do in my 1 to 1 consultations. I will do a full comprehensive sleep assessment, assessing everything that I need in order to create a customized sleep plan for your family. We will go over the plan together (check out my sleep packages) in a one hour consultation and then you’ll have 2 to 3 weeks of support time with unlimited email support. So if you want that help and you need professional advice, head to https://slumberandbloom.com/free-evaluation/ to set that free call with me.